So i attempted to do a repair with Disk Utility by booting from my OS X 10.5.6 startup/installation disk.

inserting a startup/installation disk: Leopard 10.5.6 (I notice I am running OS X 10.5.8 .... was the 10.5.8 a web upgrade?) I select Quit installation and then select the 10.5.6 disk as a startup ... but arrive again at the same installation window .. a loop I can only break if I select the original startup drive with OS X 10.5.8 which will then boot as if nothing is wrong. (even holding the "C" key will not shift the restart to installation disk)

Your original Leopard install DVD should work to boot the machine even though you're running a later version of Leopard. Is the install disk you have the original that came with the machine?

Quote:

inserting a startup/installation disk: Leopard 10.5.6 (I notice I am running OS X 10.5.8 .... was the 10.5.8 a web upgrade?) I select Quit installation and then select the 10.5.6 disk as a startup ... but arrive again at the same installation window .. a loop I can only break if I select the original startup drive with OS X 10.5.8 which will then boot as if nothing is wrong. (even holding the "C" key will not shift the restart to installation disk)

When you quit the installation as you indicate above, you should then click on the top menu "Utilities" and select "Disk Utility". Is that what you're doing? I'm not sure from your post how you're going about checking the hard drive to make repairs? Because if the boot disk you're using is the correct one, you should at least be able to access Disk Utility.

In short, start her up however you can, pop in the Leopard black DVD, full retail install and not a silver/grey model specific disc , reboot and hold down 'C" after the chime. When loaded go to Utilities in the Menu Bar, select Disk Utility and run Repair Disk from there and advise what is reported.

You cannot repair a disk you are booted from, hence the need to boot from the Leopard install disc to access Repair Disk.

Hang on to those original install discs like grim death! Using OS X.7 or later make a bootable USB thumb drive before running Installer!

THAT"S the problem .... the leopard disk I am trying to boot from is OS X10.5.6
... the original Apple disk with the purple galaxy graphiocs on it ... not the model-specific grey one. Yet, even while holding down "C" while restarting the mac will NOT boot from the disk .... instead it goes to a dialog box asking me to install. I select "quit install" from the Mac menu which gives me a choice of startup disks: my previously nonbooting hard drive or the OS X disk. i choose the OS X disk and the senario repeats itself ... over & over & over ... until I choose the previously unbootable hard drive ... which then boots up nicely, thank you.

So i never get to repair it .. as I can't seem to make it boot from the OS X disk.

And tonight upon arrival home ..... it booted right up from the hard drive like it was never a problem.

Hi,
can anyone help me to restore a mac book pro back to factory settings. I have the original disks, but the machine is not responding when you start it up. it just hangs with the apple logo page and the wheel turning. I have tried everything I know and now need serious help?

Hi,
can anyone help me to restore a mac book pro back to factory settings. I have the original disks, but the machine is not responding when you start it up. it just hangs with the apple logo page and the wheel turning. I have tried everything I know and now need serious help?

Keep holding C until the screen changes. It's loading from a DVD, so it can take a while. It's not exactly SATA speeds, here (despite it being connected to the board via a SATA connection, it's still gotta read the super slow DVD media).ß